LONDON, England ● The official London 2012 Victory Ceremonies podiums, ceremonial costumes, make-up and flowers have been revealed today. These components will be used across 805 Victory Ceremonies taking place in over 30 London 2012 venues.
Taking place soon after a medal event finishes, the design of the Victory Ceremonies has been created to be an exciting celebration of the achievements of every medal-winning athlete.
The unique design of the royal purple podiums and costumes has been created by students at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. The students have worked with London 2012 over the last eight months to create and develop the designs.
When designing the podiums, the team of students – Gaetano Ling, Hong-Yeul Eom, Luc Fusaro, Heegun Koo and Yan Lu – used dynamic lines representing the energy that the Games and athletes represent. 40 podiums will be used across all the Victory Ceremonies and approximately 4,400 medal-winning athletes will stand on them to celebrate their success formally.
The ceremonial costumes will be worn by Games Maker volunteers in athlete and presenter escort roles and flower and medal bearer roles. The elegant and dynamic designs by students Thomas Crisp and Trine Hav Christensen represent London and its architecture with a modern twist. When designing the costumes the students were inspired by Greek mythology as well as British heritage. A hat will also be worn by the presenter escorts. The inspiration for this design by former student Zara Gorman included the architecture of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues combined with aspects of British tailoring and sportswear.
4,400 floral bouquets will also be presented to athletes along with medals during the Victory Ceremonies. The victory bouquet has been designed by Jane Packer an internationally renowned UK florist. The bouquet represents the vibrancy of the Games and the four sections hold a different variety of the rose, an iconic British flower. Each section is also divided with traditional herbs – mint, rosemary, English lavender and wheat. These ingredients are designed to provide an unusually eclectic fragrant mix. All of the flowers and herbs are 100 per cent British grown.
The make-up which will be worn by all the athlete and presenter escorts and medal and flower bearers has been provided by Max Factor, part of Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Worldwide Olympic Partner. The unique look has been created by Max Factor award-winning make-up artist Caroline Barnes. The purple and gold shades create a simple, modern design as well as a natural and fresh look.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair said: ‘The Victory Ceremonies mark the moment athletes can celebrate and share their achievements with fans in the stadiums and a worldwide TV audience. I’m delighted that we have worked with not only with established British designers but also with the next generation of designers to create this special moment for them.’
Professor Wendy Dagworthy OBE, Dean of the School of Material and Head of Fashion Programmes, RCA said: ‘It’s fantastic that Royal College of Art students have had so much involvement with the London 2012 Games – from creating artworks from recycled hoarding from the Olympic Park site in 2008 to the stunning costumes and podia being unveiled today.
This really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these highly talented young designers, and a great way to showcase British design education to a global audience. 2012 is proving to be an exciting year for us in so many ways – especially as we also celebrate our 175th anniversary this year.’
Caroline Barnes, make-up artist said: ‘The eyes of the world will be on London this year and I’m so proud that my make-up design will be a part of something as big as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I wanted it to encompass everything the Games are about, so it represents well being; it’s natural and fresh and will give each of the wearers a lovely healthy glow.’
During a Victory Ceremony the athletes who came first, second and third stand on a podium, with the winner in the middle. Their names are called out and the medals and flowers are given to them by an official: gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third. The flags of the athletes’ countries are then raised, and the national anthem of the gold medallist’s nation is played.